Your Ninja Way
by Ananda17lady
Summary: When the hero of the Fourth Great Ninja War experiences yet another setback on the road to recovery, it will take help from an unexpected source to get his life back on track.
1. chapter 1

"Well, I have good news," Tsunade said as she stood next to the cot where he turned to face her, clipboard in hand. Sakura, who had entered the room behind her master, closed the door behind them and moved to stand next to the Fifth Hokage. When Naruto shifted his gaze to the younger woman, she offered an encouraging smile, although it ended up appearing slightly forced. Knowing what the young man was about to be told, and knowing her teammate as well as she did, Sakura braced herself for the inevitable.

"Really? That's great, dattebayo! I will finally be able to get back to training! So when are you doing the sur-GAH!"

"Baka, let Tsunade-sama finish!"

"Sakura-chan, that hurts..!"

Tsunade merely sighed and shook her head at the pair. Maybe some things would never change. "The good news," she continued, "is we have made great leaps in the development of your prosthetic arm and hand. Unfortunately," she said with a slight pause, "it's still nowhere near being ready for surgery. Maybe after a few more tests... but as of right now, you should probably make some more permanent adjustments to your routine in order to make living with one arm easier."

An awkward silence hung in the air until finally he lifted his head to meet their intense gazes.

"Obaa-chan, Sakura-chan," Naruto said quietly, his voice even and void of emotion. Rising to his feet, he squared his shoulders and stood in front of the medical ninja. Giving the two women a respectful bow, he spoke. "Thank you for all of your hard work. I look forward to seeing you again soon." And with that, he straightened up and calmly left the examination room and walked to the exit of the hospital. The young kuinoichi watched as her friend walked through the door and out into the sunlight that shone brightly through the glass entryway, a pained expression on her face.

"Naruto..."

Once he was safely out of sight of the hospital, Naruto finally allowed what was said to him sink in: even being the hero of the Fourth Great Ninja War did not make him immuned to struggle. He wasn't really thinking when he had landed the blow that caused him and Sasuke to lose their arms, and although he wouldn't hesitate to do it again if he had the chance, he didn't realize that it came with such a hefty price. Getting his arm back was turning out to be difficult and uncharted territory for the Fifth Hokage and her team. Six months had come and gone, and still no prosthetic arm.

Naruto's hope was quickly fading. How could he ever hope to become the Hokage when he could no longer perform the simplest of jutsus?

Kicking at the rock in front of him, he made his way to the Academy building to begin his study session with Iruka-sensei.


	2. chapter 2

Pausing midsentence, Iruka turned away from the blackboard to face his class of one with a sigh. Judging from the fact that Naruto was woefully distracted and couldn't answer any of the questions, he could only assume that the young man's meeting with Lady Fifth did not go the way Naruto had expected. Rather than waste any more of each other's time, Iruka gently placed the chalk down on the ledge.

"That's enough for today. How about you and I go grab a bowl of ramen? My treat."

Naruto stood and gathered his books, and as he turned to go, for only the second time since Iruka knew him, he quietly answered, "No thanks."

Iruka could only watch as the younger man walked silently out of the classroom, unsure what to say or do to help him. After the first few meetings with Tsunade-sama Naruto had appeared unfazed by the delays, but as time went on Iruka could see that he was starting to become discouraged. Little by little, his trademark smile began to fade, and now Iruka could see that Naruto was just going through the motions to get through the day. It hurt him to see Naruto like this; after all, Iruka came to think of him as a little brother over the years. But, as it would seem, he was not the one who could help him with this situation.

Back at his apartment, a loud gurgling noise quickly pulled Naruto out of his thoughts and into the present once again. He had been lying on his bed, thinking about what the future held for him, when his empty stomach finally won out. _Maybe I should have taken Iruka-sensei up on that ramen after all,_ he thought to himself.

Making his way over to the cupboard, Naruto opened the door but only to be greeted by the same emptiness as his stomach. Letting out a loud sigh, he closed the cupboard and made his way over to the door.

It would seem that he was eating out tonight after all.

Meanwhile, not far from Ichiraku, a young man clad in a green jumpsuit and tan legwarmers could be seen strolling through the streets of Konoha, faithfully pushing a wheelchair-ridden gentleman who was wearing the same curious attire as his escort as well as a lightweight blanket across his lap. Although the weather was starting to get warmer again in the evenings, Lee always wanted to make sure his teacher was well cared for. On this particular evening, Maito Guy seemed deep in thought.

"Listen Lee, I want you to know something."

"Yes, Guy-Sensei?"

"Always remember that what makes you a shinobi is what's in your heart, got that? Even in this wheelchair, I will be a most splendid shinobi to honor my father and my village."

 _And, my eternal rival,_ he added silently.

"... Yes, Guy-Sensei. But is there a reason you are bringing this up now?"

There was a slight pause before his answer came.

"Something tells me that you may need to share that knowledge with someone else soon."


	3. chapter 3

"Come in," Kakashi called from his desk in the Hokage's Office, not bothering to look up from the form he was reviewing. Since officially becoming the Sixth Hokage of Konoha, his days had become a flurry of paperwork to do and dignitaries to entertain in the wake of the war. Having Shikamaru disturb his train of thought by adding more forms to his desk than Kakashi was able to clear each day, unfortunately, was also becoming commonplace for him.

But this time it was not Shikamaru at all. Instead when the Rokudaime lifted his gaze he was surprised to be met by a white medical coat and concerned green eyes beneath rose hued locks.

"Sakura," he said warily, not wishing to be standoffish with a former teammate, but hoping to convey his desire for her to make her petition brief. His workload would keep him busy late into the night once again as it was. "What is it?"

"Status report on Tsunade-sama's research, Kakashi-Sensei."

"Ah," came the response. "And?"

"We have made progress on the prosthetic arm and hand, but unfortunately it is still in the preliminary stages. We have had several setbacks when it comes to actually fusing the First Hokage's cells with Naruto's through means of blood samples and skin grafts."

"I see. Any possible theories?"

Sakura shook her head. "Not yet, but Tsunade-sama said it would be difficult at best..."

"...And, things concerning Naruto usually are," Kakashi said, finishing her thought for her. It actually brought a small nostalgic smile to both of their faces, although one was only visible by looking at his eyes. But, no sooner had it come it was gone again, and he was forced to get this situation taken care of and move on to the next. "Is that all?"

Sakura's eyes shot down to the floor as she stood there just a moment too long for Kakashi. Sighing, he laid down his pen and gave her his full attention. More gently this time, he asked, "What is it, Sakura?"

"I'm worried about him," she said at last. "His depression seems to be getting worse every day, and each time we come back to him with bad news... I can't stand seeing him like this anymore. I feel like I failed him."

The Rokudaime looked back at his former student with empathy. "Sakura, Naruto can be reckless beyond reason, but he is a shinobi, and he understands that his actions have consequences, good and bad. If he never gets his arm back but gets to have his friend again, I doubt he will count it as a loss."

Sakura looked at him with a small smile but said nothing.

Kakashi continued. "But, even though he knows that this is a long shot at best doesn't mean he wouldn't get his hopes up. Reality is setting in for him, and he isn't sure what that means. Be his friend and be there for him, but this is something he has to work through on his own."

Her features took on a more serious appearance at that last phrase. "Yes, sir," she said, giving him a bow before turning back to the door.

"One last thing," he said as she took hold of the knob. "No matter how bleak the situation may seem, Naruto doesn't run away, he doesn't give up, and he never goes back on his word."

Sakura turned to look at her teacher with eyes wide, while his own seemed to smile back at her.

"Because that's his Ninja Way."

Unsure how to respond to this, Sakura merely nodded, and with a twist of the knob she passed through the door and closed it quietly behind her.

The smile left Kakashi's eyes the moment the door closed, a look of silent concern in its place. He, too, had noticed the change in Naruto, but if experience was any teacher he knew he was making the right decision.

His only concern now was that he didn't wait as long to move on as he had.


	4. Chapter 4

The smells told him he was near; even if he were blind his feet could always find their way. To Naruto's relief, there was no one else at the counter when he walked in and helped himself to one of the stools at Ichiraku Ramen.

But that didn't mean he was going to be eating in peace.

"Ah, there you are! I haven't seen you in awhile; have you been away on a mission?"

The question visibly surprised him, but he quickly recovered by saying "no, not lately."

Just then, Ayame appeared behind her father, and leaned over to give him a kiss on his cheek. The old man smiled, and then turned to his daughter, saying, "The orders are ready. Be careful, and I will see you soon."

Giving Naruto a smile and wave, she took the orders of ramen and left to deliver them.

Turning his attention back to his customer, Teuchi smiled and said, "The usual, then?"

"Nah, just a regular order today," Naruto said, before quickly adding, "I just need something to tide me over for a few hours."

"Ah, study snack or training break?"

Another pause.

"Training break." _Technically a six month training break..._

"Well then, work hard," he said as he set the bowl of steamy goodness in front of Naruto. "I'm glad to see that only having one arm hasn't affected your training. After everything you went through growing up, we were worried that this would be the thing to make you give it up."

Naruto's eyes shot up to the ramen cook in speechless shock. If the old man knew anything to the contrary, his features didn't betray him. He simply offered Naruto a friendly smile and turned away to take the large wok in the back to be cleaned. "Well, my daughter was worried...I knew that you're far too creative to not find a way to do your...whatever it is that you shinobi do. If my daughter comes back before I come back out tell her I'm in the back."

"Yes sir," Naruto said softly as he looked away from the old man to reach for a set of chopsticks and be alone with his thoughts and his ramen.

*

Lost in thought, Hinata found her feet had once again taken her toward the clearing that was referred to as Training Area 3, the same place she found herself so many times before: to watch the person she so admired struggle and eventually triumph over whatever obstacle he was faced with, to siphon inspiration and courage to not give up in her own difficult situation, and recently, to reminisce and silently mourn the innocence that was stolen from her and her classmates all too soon. The past six months Hinata found the clearing to be deserted, the three wooden posts standing ever vigilant in the moonlight.

But tonight, she was startled to discover that someone else was there that she didn't immediately recognize.

Too embarrassed by the thought of being caught spying, Hinata turned on her heels and quickly headed back the way she came.

*

Turning around to briefly scan the wood line and no longer sensing any presence there, he turned back to his training. Raising his hand up once more, he refocused his chakra and began again..."Kage Bushin No Jutsu..."


End file.
